$4 (cheap a great value) over on the sidebarthat-a-way>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

You know, I try not to play favorites.

Summer is great, but I do love a fresh snowfall...

Chocolate is king, but strawberry ice cream comes close...

Number One Son is such a special young man, but Baby Boy tugs at my heart too...

Knitting makes my heart beat faster, but it's hard to beat an afternoon on the porch with a good book...

Deep meaning is great, but sometimes I just want a good laugh...

But I have to tell you...

I LOVE this yarn.

What on earth took me so long?

If one project is good, two is better, right?

What about three?

I blocked Jazz hard. And to my surprise, when stretched out, the silky merino takes on a drape quite similar to its namesake silk. Who knew?

Yet, when left to its own devices, as in the above pictures, the silky merino shows more of its wooly nature: soft, deep, and showing off your textural stitches to advantage.

So you have a decision to make: Do you want a flatter, finer lacy stole? Block hard. Or is a warm woolly rib more to your liking? Block softly.

It's two...two...two yarns in one...

This pale aqua scarf ( soon to be joined by a sibling hat) in the previous picture doesn't have a name yet; I wanted to call it Arabesque, but there are already three pages of patterns on Ravelry with that name.

Then I thought I'd name it for an ice skating move, since the pale aqua (actual color: mint frappe) looks icy and the curving lines that the stitches form reminds me of the old school figures, which international competition used to require. But "school figure" is sort of a clunky name for such a graceful pattern, and "salchow" isn't much better.

Wait a minute...

I just had a great idea for a contest!

Help me name this pattern. Leave me a suggestion in the comments and I will send the pattern out for free, when it comes out in a week or two, to the top three entries (as determined by me - sorry, this is not a democracy; it is a benevolent dictatorship.)

And just to sweeten the pot, if you have the top entry, I will also include a Poinsettia scarf pattern, which is otherwise only available exclusively to those who purchase the entire Garden Variety Collection.

I am notoriously bad at shipping things. Ask anyone. I put the "pro" in procrastinate. But even I can manage to send an email.

I think...

I'm having such fun designing quick aperitif projects that spotlight this extraordinary fiber. Lots of goodies under my Christmas tree this year.

If you haven't tried it yet, you really should!

And a little bird tells me Yarnzilla is unpacking a brand new shipment of silky merino goodness, even as we speak read...

Wow. First, a really great scarf, then all those great name choices. I feel a bit intimidated. I'm also in love with Sily Malabrigo at the moment...working a scarf in Cloudy Sky. I like the name Isle of Skye for your scarf. Hope you do too!

Hmmm, it's gorgeous! i was slow at finding that yarn as well and just recently picked up a skein but have yet to knit it up yet. How about : Winterfest Popsicles also comes to mind...i keep seeing those popsicles on double sticks in the design!

It reminds my of my childhood and a fairy-tale I loved very much. It is "Die Schneekönigin" by Hans Christian Andersen. This might be "Snow Queen" in English. So my suggestion for a name for the scarf is "Snow Queen on a Christmas Lake".

To me the pattern looks like candle flames, so I thought Luminaria would be a good name. If that seems too close to Laminaria (a popular pattern on Ravelry) you could use Farolito, which means the same thing.

the train of thought that led me there was the arabesque to art nouveau to Alfonse Munch then to the pre-Raphaelites.....then to Persephone/Proserpine, signifying winter, which ties in with the icy blue.....

Hi, I've never seen them but the pattern looks a little like pics I've seen of frost flowers and since there's a BW stitch by that name how about ice flowers...or ice blossom...or artic flower? I was also reminded of an Emily Dickinson poem...

As if some little Arctic flowerUpon the polar hem --Went wandering down the Latitudes

and ended up a pretty scarf! Hah, added that last line in! Thanks for such beautiful patterns.

Because the curves and points remind me of the beautiful Persian-inspired architecture of Olana House, http://www.olana.org/,the Hudson Valley home of artist Frederic Church, I submit "Olana." There are also amazing colors in the home, and shades of blue and orange abound. Madeline

Pavlova, like the famous ballerina.or Spring Onions. i don't know why, it just popped into my head when i first saw it...or, in case some people don't relish (ha, relish, i made a funny) the idea of being wrapped in onions, maybe Sweet Pea. Somebody suggested Bohemian Rhapsody, and i really like that. great song to think of every time you put it around your shoulders. Freddie Mercury would be thrilled. my husband gas been cleaning the house for the past couple of days. he's driving me insane. how about death's head moth ? i'm about to go all hannibal lechter on him if he doesn't quit soon.

Instead of the skating techniques I went the route of famous ice skaters like "Biellmann," (the motif reminded me of the shape that Denise Biellman's leg created with her famous spin), "Oksana," and then of course my favorite ice dancers "Torvill & Dean" (it's feminine and masculine...especially with the bobbles). Thought that everyone could use a chuckle...Hubby also wanted to put in his 2 cents worth and he's the jokester in the family so his are "Sasha Stitch,", "Scarfy Hamilton," and "Yamaguchi Yarn."

how about adagio?heres the definition:Adagio skating, a form of pair skating most commonly seen in ice shows, where the skaters perform many spectacular acrobatic lifts but few or none of the singles elements which competitive pairs must perform.

just think its appropriate since even though one repeat of the pattern is beautiful, its the multiple repeats that make it spectacular, =)

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About Me

writer, knitter, designer, Quaker, mother of two, wife of one, seeker of enlightenment, child of God (not neccesarily in that order) I am a classically trained musician,who used to sing opera. Graduate of the WORD program in writing as ministry at Earlham School of Religion. I am 54 years young.
My Ravelry name is pandosu